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dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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DTCA MemberFrance

--38c and 102 Lagonda Sports Coupe (1946-55)

The Lagonda...I think one of the most handsome cars Dinky ever made.

Terry.

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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I happen to have met the prototype of the Lagonda V12 at Brooklands on June 30 2007. The car has been restored completely to original condition, it looks absolutely fantastic. This car was so expansive that it was never made as well as that. I also met Arnold Davey the historian of the Lagonda owners club who later wrote to me about the Dinky Toys model. See below.

From the Lagonda page of the Dinky Toys Encyclop

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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Hi, both versions of the Lagonda here:

Left the original which was introduced in April 1946 (black hubs, sturdy wind screen, with frame, little piece broken off) and at the right the export version with coloured hubs and the flexible (now bent down) wind screen.

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Jan

Thanks for showing both of those. It is amazing how much better the original windscreen looks compared to the flimsy replacement. It is the proper height and with the silver edging looks quite realistic, and they also are not going lay back like some of the later ones. But I can also guess that since they were much more rigid, they also were more likely to break or crack. I have never seen those early ones here in the states...........

Terry

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Arising from a recent addition of an example out of of the first batch produced early 1946, some more about the Lagonda.

Althought designed and announced pre-war already, the Lagonda Sports Coupe was issued post-war only. The model made its first appearance in the June 1939 Meccano Magazine, but disappeared in later pre-war and early war advertisements of the 38 series. The only ones showing up pre-war are the 38a Frazer-Nash - B.M.W. Sports Car, 38b Sunbeam-Talbot Sports Car and 38d Alvis Sports Tourer (38e Triumph Dolomite Sports Coupe was never issued and replaced by 38e Armstrong Siddeley Coupe in 1946 and 38f (S.S.) Jaguar Sports Car was issued as late as end 1946).

Evidence of the pre-war design activities for the Lagonda can be found in the surviving drawing, job no. 12036 of 9 January 1939 (which I have never seen). The wooden prototype is also still existent. It was first discussed and shown in b/w by Julien Loffet in Modellers' World 8/2 of January 1979. 

Accompanied by the 153a Jeep the Lagonda had the honour to open the post-war Dinky Toys range as a first, advertised in Meccano Magazine of April 1946. Models produced end 1945 and before end 1946 were still fitted with the smooth hubs (familiar pre-war, but now with larger axle holes). In a similar way open sports cars had the steering wheels made solid, without the separate spokes. So the earliest batch of Lagondas produced in 1946 are chracterized by these features. Early post war white tyres can be found. Most, however, have the small black tyres, sometimes with the nice fine tread of the period. 

Like the other 38 sports cars details on the sides - like door contours - are missing. With the (economical) restrictions of the dies Meccano chose for sacrificing these details in favour of the nicely detailed interiors of this and the other 38 series models. Regular celluloid windscreens can be found, but also firmer plastic silver framed ones and rather flimsy, easy to fold down in the course of time on later export models. These later, post-1950 export models have their hubs turn into coloured ones instead of the earlier satin finished black ones. As an export model for the US market the Lagonda survived long enough to undergo renumbering into 102, in fact the starting numbers of the later real post-war British Sports Cars.

I like the sleek, flowing lines of the Lagonda very much. The model seems to be even more elegant than the real one, which is a beauty in itself. I hope for some comments, additions and corrections. The more data, photos and colours the better. Kind regards, Jan    

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Jan---Thanks for expanding our thread on the Lagonda.....I still think it is one of the most handsome models Dinky made.....it has such nice lines. Your new model appears to be in wonderful condition, and I really like seeing one with the white tires.....gives it an elegant look.
I wanted to raise the topic of these 38 series windscreens again; I mentioned the silver edged one on a recent Armstrong Siddeley I had acquired, and I commented then on how little seems to be known about them: when were they used, and exactly how was the silver edge accomplished? I have even seen the little Jaguar, with its twin, small screens, with silver edging. My Armstrong Siddeley has a very uniform silver edge.....was this done with some form of small roller? Or some kind of brush? Hard to imagine it being applied mechanically.
Another issue is the thicker windscreen, which looks so much better than the later flimsy ones, seen on most export models. But it appears that some thick windscreens did not have the silver edging, so in all, 3 types were used.....thick, but no edging, thick with silver edge, and thin or flimsy at the end. I would guess that Keith Harvie might have more insight on this. I am guessing that these different ones were also reflected on the factory drawings.....have any of those survived? One last comment on the prototype Lagonda.....I seem to remember reading that after much searching and looking, by Lagonda experts, that the Dinky is not a true model of any specific Lagonda, but does closely resemble a couple of them, and certainly has the "Lagonda look".
Best regards, Terry

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As far as I know I have seen the flimsy bent down windscreens on export models only, and the silver edged windscreens on the earlier black wheeled 38 series models only. The 'regular', more stiff celluloid ones may be seen on all models. The only way to test this assumption is that members post far more examples from their collections (in written text of photos), provided that they are convinced that the cases mentioned/shown are fully authentic, with original screens, not replaced ones. So this is an invitation ...

I agree that the model - with all its understandable limitations - in some respects deviates slightly from the real world car indeed. For instance, it looks too low, and the wheels look slightly too small - but that's a general problem with using a limited number of standard wheel/tyre categories on models of various scales. Kind regards, Jan   

 

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Jan Oldenhuis
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DTCA MemberNetherlands

Here is my 1st version of the DT Lagonda that I received recently. It has the smooth black hubs, white tires and a dense solid steering wheel.

A stunning real model of this Lagonda has undergone a remarkable history in the Netherlands. A successful and wealthy architect in the Netherlands had bought in 1938 a Lagonda LG6 drophead coupe. There were only two of these cars in the Netherlands. It was the most beautiful, expensive and best car in the world that was made in that time and there are only 85 made of this model. In WWII he hid the car for the German Forces, but after the war the car was confiscated by the Dutch Interior Forces.

In this hidden Lagonda was the British General and Field Marshal Montgomery after the liberation of the Netherlands in May 1945 through the mayor of Amsterdam driven along thousands of cheering Amsterdam citizens. See snapshots of a video. Note the steering wheel on the left side instead of the British right side!

I also add some pictures of an authentic LG6 Lagonda drophead coupe in maroon and a restored Lagonda in green, the same colour as the real DT model. A brilliant car.

Kind regards to all.

Jan Oldenhuis (703)

 

dinkyfan's picture
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Another beautiful Lagonda model, and an early one at that.....very, very nice Jan. After seeing both your very early one, and also Jan Werner's, they both appear to have the thicker windscreen, but without the silver edging, which leads me to think that the silver edging was a little later, but before the export versions.
Best regards, Terry

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Hi Jan, isn't it a coincidence that both of us found the same not-so-very-common version of the Lagonda within one single month? And that I happened to visit you this week and admire your collection! Showing the photos of your model here, it struck me once more that one of the white tyres of yours is a treaded one. Observing that, I told you that I have a contemporary, very early post war no. 152b Reconnaisance Car which has a mirrored tyre composition: all white and treaded, except for one smooth white tyre, fore, left. If these tyres weren't so vulnerable nowadays we might have considered to (ex)change them. Kind regards, Jan W    

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A well-play-worn Lagonda, found in a French shed. Many play-worn Dinky 38c's are in a better condition, this one still fetching GBP 97.744 at an auction. Dutch text by Bart van den Acker, photography Artcurial, published in Kampioen, monthly for ANWB members, issue June 2017. Kind regards, Jan 

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Richard
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DTCA MemberFrance

My two versions.

The grey with black hubs was not on this forum yet ! Now it's done

Kind regards

Richard